


Proof of Injury

by Joyful



Category: Glee
Genre: Abuse, Bullying, Community: glee_angst_meme, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-15
Updated: 2011-02-15
Packaged: 2017-10-15 16:51:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/162872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joyful/pseuds/Joyful
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt transfers back to McKinley, and the bullying picks right back up again, but only lasts about 2 weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Proof of Injury

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt off the angst meme: http://community.livejournal.com/glee_angst_meme/4263.html?thread=8403879#t8403879

Kurt thinks he's glad to be back at McKinley. Dalton was good for him, it helped him learn to be less afraid, to learn to trust people again. But Dalton didn't exactly encourage individuality, and Kurt had missed his fabulous clothes almost as much as he'd missed his friends. So, as he's walking down the hall, Mercedes in his sights about thirty feet away, he almost feels like he's come home.

“Welcome back, fag,” one of the hockey players says before checking him hard into the lockers. He feels a lock press into his ribs hard, and wonders if he's acquired another cracked rib as he slides down to the floor and Mercedes rushes over to him. Yep, he's definitely back.

*****

The bullying picks back up again just as it had been before Kurt had transferred to Dalton. He's tripped or checked into lockers every time he passes a jock in the hallways, save for the jocks who were also on Glee. If he happened to be unfortunate enough to run into two or more jocks in the parking lot he'd take a trip into the dumpster—no longer a daily occurrence, but it still happened a couple times a week—and of course he still gets slushied.

But Kurt's picked up a little confidence at Dalton. He's not going to let the abuse chase him out again. He's not going to run like a scared kitten when lockers slam, or physically imposing athletes barrel down the hallway. If the worst they can do to him is bruise his body a bit, he'll survive this. Because he's strong now. They can't touch his spirit. They broke him once, when they chased him out of his own school, but hew won't let them do it again. So he takes the locker slams and the dumpster tosses. Never once screaming out in pain. Never giving the bullies the satisfaction of knowing they'd hurt him physically. He's a man. He can take it.

*****

During his first two and a half years of high school Kurt tended to avoid the locker room at all costs. When he played football, he'd wait until he got home to shower, and when he was a cheerleader Brittany usually sneaked him into the girls' locker room when nobody was looking. But at Dalton, he'd had to get over his fear of public nudity pretty quickly. All of the showers in the dormitories were communal. After about two or three weeks of trying to schedule showers at odd times when nobody was there, Kurt eventually gave in and learned that showering in a communal setting wasn't too bad. For the most part everyone kept his eyes to himself, and the Dalton boys had learned pretty quickly not to touch Kurt's specialty hygiene products. David had discovered that avoiding thewalk back to his bedroom to retrieve his forgotten soap was not worth the verbal tongue-lashing he'd gotten from Kurt for trying to use his fancy body wash. Besides, Kurt had nothing to be ashamed up. He kept in good physical shape, so not only was he thin but he had strong, lean muscles. He had a dancer's body, and after a slippery, sweaty, soapy encounter alone with Blaine in the showers, he was no longer afraid to show it off.

Once he was back at McKinley again, Kurt quickly realized that getting over his fear of showering in front of people would be a good thing. As much as he hates to admit it, he's still afraid of Dave Karofsky. Before he'd left, the bullying had become somewhat sexual, and Kurt was afraid Karofsky might try to take advantage of him. As much as he might enjoy showering alone after the other boys had left, that would leave him very vulnerable, being the only boy in the locker room, with no witnesses if Karofsky tried to start something. So, after his twice-a0wekk gym class Kurt starts showering with the rest of the boys. He's learned proper shower etiquette at Dalton, and as long as he keeps his hands and eyes to himself, he's not too afraid.

It's his third gym class back at McKinley, partway through his second week back when anything unusual happens. They'd been playing dodge ball, and Kurt was grateful for good reflexes because he'd avoided a couple of nasty hits. He'd managed to hold his own pretty well this time, staying in the game until there were only about five or six people left. Still, dodge ball was an adolescent rite of passage that Kurt definitely wishes he could skip over. He's washing the sweat out of his hair when he hears Puck's voice.

“Holy hell, Hummel! What happened to you?”

“Nice alliteration, Puckerman,” Kurt responds, his eyes shut for fear of getting shampoo in them. “What precisely are you referring to?”

“You're covered in bruises. There's one on your ribs that's so dark it's almost black. Did you wrestle a grizzly bear or something?” Puck asks jokingly, but there's concern in his voice which Kurt finds surprising. Puck's seen how much Kurt gets bullied, why is he so surprised?

“The one on my ribs is from a combination lock,” Kurt says. “One of the hips checks in the hallway. If I catch the lockers at the wrong angle, the bruises look darker.”

“Wait, it happened here?” Puck asked, surprised.

“Of course. Puck, you've seen me get pushed into lockers and thrown into dumpsters ever day. Did you think it wouldn't leave a mark?” Kurt responds matter-of-factly. He's turned to face the wall, where he's set his conditioner, and takes the time to work some into his hair. He's still talking to Puck, but not looking out into the shower, he's too focused on himself.

“All of those bruises are from school?” Puck asks, pushing further.

“Yes, Puck,” Kurt sighs. “Of course they are. Where else am I abused daily? You don't think my dad or Finn hit me, do you?”

“No,” Puck says, his voice kind of strangled. “Of course not.”

Kurt finishes showering, then wraps a towel around his waist and walks back to the locker he's stored his clothes in. He dresses slowly. His entire torso is black and blue, as usual, so it hurts a little when he has to lift his arms above his head. He's sore, but it's nothing unmanageable. And honestly, he reminds himself, he's had worse. He's so involved in first showering and then in dressing that he doesn't notice a locker room full of boys staring at him.

*****

Kurt is physically bullied exactly three more times after the conversation in the locker room with Puck. Later that day he's pushed into the lockers by a senior. The next day he's tossed into a dumpster by Azimio and Karofsky, and on Friday he's tripped in the cafeteria. He doesn't log these in his mind as the last incidents at first. It takes him a while to realize that things have changed.

On Monday, he's walking down the hall when the entire hockey team passes. He expects to be thrown back into the lockers, but nothing happens. Nobody touches him. On Tuesday he sees four football players in the parking lot and braces himself for a dumpster toss. They pass him by and nothing happens. He walks into the school and gets a slushie smack in the kisser. He opens his locker and finds a nasty note shoved in there. The bullying hasn't stopped completely, but nobody's touched him in two days.

It takes Kurt almost three weeks to realize the change in his bullying. He's still getting nasty comments and notes, and the occasional slushie in the face, but he hasn't been pushed, kicked, shoved, or thrown into a dumpster in three weeks. The reprieve is liberating and exhilarating, but terrifying at the same time, because he doesn't know how long it will last. Not only that, but Finn's been acting kind of weird. Almost like Kurt's made out of glass and he needs to tiptoe around him for fear of breaking him. One evening, after dinner, Kurt decides to ask Finn if he knows what's going on.

“Finn, what are the jocks up to?”

“Huh?” Finn responds, confused.

“The jocks. They haven't pushed me or dumpster-tossed me in almost three weeks. Are they planning something insidious as a surprise or something?” Kurt asks his stepbrother.

“You don't know?” Finn asks.

“Don't know what?” Kurt asks.

“The jocks all agreed to stop pushing you. Nobody's going to throw you around anymore,” Finn answers.

“Why?” Kurt asks. “Why now?”

“Nobody knew. Nobody knew how bad it is. Kurt, you _never cried out._ ” Finn answers, obviously distressed.

“Pardon?” Kurt doesn't get it.

“Every time you were thrown in a dumpster or kicked or knocked into a locker, you never cried out,” Finn says.

“I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me in pain,” Kurt responds as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Nobody realized you were actually being hurt. They just thought they were being annoying. Puck said he saw you in the locker room after gym class and you were _covered_ in bruises. None of the guys could stop staring at you, because they hadn't realized they'd been leaving marks,” Finn explains.

“They didn't think it hurt?” Kurt asks, flabbergasted. “You mean, I could have stopped it years ago, if I had shown off the bruises?”

“Probably. Can I see?” Finn asks. “Please?”

“I don't—” Kurt trails off, he doesn't really want to take his shirt off.

“Please,” Finn presses again.

Kurt sighed and slowly peels off his shirt. Some of the bruises have started to fade, so instead of just black and blue and purple, his torso bears streaks of yellow and green and brown. It almost looks like he's wearing a tie-dyed undershirt, his torso is so covered in bruises.

“I'm sorry,” Finn says quietly.

“What for?” Kurt asks. “You didn't do any of this.”

“I did, before. I helped bully you. And I don't think I ever said sorry for that. So I'm saying it now. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you, Kurt,” Finn says, looking his stepbrother in the eyes.

“I'd forgiven you a long time ago,” Kurt says. “But thank you all the same.”

Finn gently puts his arm around Kurt, not going for his normal tight hug with a clap on the back, since Kurt's so bruised up. But it's nice and comforting, and Kurt melts into the touch. Maybe, if things keep holding on the way they've been going lately, maybe Kurt can make it through McKinley mostly unscathed. As his stepbrother hugs him, Kurt smiles. Yep, he's definitely home now.

*End*


End file.
